Washington, D.C. — On Saturday, October 3, 2015 at the Global March for Elephants and Rhinos (GMFER) in Boston, MA, Adam M. Roberts, CEO of Born Free USA and the Born Free Foundation, will be speaking about the plight of elephants and rhinos and the vitally important bill pending in the Massachusetts legislature that would ban the sale of ivory and rhino horn. Roberts, an international expert on wildlife trade, will address the crowd on the Boston Common shortly after 11:00AM. Boston is one of more than 100 cities around the world where a march will take place.[teaserbreak]
According to Roberts, “Elephants and rhinos are the victims of an illegal wildlife trafficking enterprise that is more organized, militarized, and lucrative than ever before. An estimated 129,000 elephants have died at the hands of poachers since January 2012. As documented in Born Free USA’s groundbreaking reports, Ivory’s Curse and Out of Africa, poaching is not only a wildlife conservation and animal welfare issue, but is also intrinsically linked to terrorist networks and global criminal syndicates that use bloody ivory money to fund their violent activities, threatening national security.”
“Rhinos are similarly suffering as casualties of the disturbingly high global demand for their horns. More than 1,200 black and white rhinos were killed in South Africa alone in 2014. Africa’s black rhinos in particular are critically endangered, with a population of fewer than 5,000. Only 3,000 one-horned rhinos remain in India and Nepal, and Southeast Asia’s Sumatran and Javan rhinos number only in the hundreds and tens, respectively,” Roberts explains.
In addition to Roberts and Born Free USA, the Boston march will also be led by bill sponsors Senator Jason Lewis and Representative Lori Ehrlich, the MSPCA, Zoo New England, and Tom Lang of Westerhoff Antiques. All will assemble at 11:00AM on the Boston Common to march, rally, and demand an end to the ivory and rhino horn trade in China, Vietnam, and the U.S., including in Massachusetts.
The Boston-Cambridge region has been ranked as the seventh largest ivory market in the U.S. and a 2015 investigation found Craigslist’s Boston site to have the fourth largest number of ivory or related wildlife products listed for sale, among major U.S. cities.
Last year, in 2014, more than 135 cities from all seven continents marched around the world in solidarity for elephants and rhinos. GMFER is a grassroots all-volunteer organization that works on behalf of Earth’s last elephants and rhinos. The group advocates strategically to promote local and global awareness about the elephant and rhino crises, calling for governments to take immediate action to end poaching in range nations, and demanding an end to the ivory and rhino horn trade at all levels: locally, nationally, and internationally. Learn more by visiting http://www.march4elephantsandrhinos.org.
Born Free USA is a global leader in animal welfare and wildlife conservation. Through litigation, legislation, and public education, Born Free USA leads vital campaigns against animals in entertainment, exotic “pets,” trapping and fur, and the destructive international wildlife trade. Born Free USA brings to America the message of “compassionate conservation”—the vision of the U.K.-based Born Free Foundation, established in 1984 by Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna, stars of the iconic film Born Free, along with their son, Will Travers. Born Free’s mission is to end suffering of wild animals in captivity, conserve threatened and endangered species, and encourage compassionate conservation globally. More at www.bornfreeusa.org, www.twitter.com/bornfreeusa, and www.facebook.com/bornfreeusa.
Media Contact: Rodi Rosensweig, 203/270-8929, therodicompany@gmail.com